Avril Lavigne Says ‘Hello Kitty’ Video Isn’t Racist

Avril Lavigne responded to growing criticism about her latest video “Hello Kitty,” which has been criticized by some for cultural appropriation and racism. The singer took to Twitter to defend the video:

The singer appeared to be responding to charges lobbed against her across the Web. An article on Policymic.com titled “It’s Almost Impossible to Choose the Most Racist Moment of Avril Lavigne’s New Video” says of the Canadian musician’s new video: “ Every time the beat drops in Avril Lavigne’s new music video for “Hello Kitty,” she shouts “Kawaii!” like it’s a battle cry. A really racist battle cry. On Tuesday, Lavigne released the video (since pulled from YouTube) for her new song “Hello Kitty.” The song is offensively bad. The video is offensively racist.”

TheWeek.com posted an article stating: “In what is sadly just the latest in a long tradition of pop stars appropriating other cultures, Avril Lavigne has decided to swap out her ‘sk8r girl’ vibe for a new, artificial, and totally ‘kawaii’ one.”